Child's Play
by A Mermaid's Tale
Summary: Frozen AU: Anna and Elsa's parents are throwing their annual New Year's Eve Party, and the young children, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Hans, decided to play a game of make believe. Adventure ensues when royalty, a talking reindeer and snowman, and ice powers from the imagination of four young children are brought into the Isenberg household.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

Though the clock had not yet struck seven o'clock, the Isenberg household was already bustling with various people. It was, after all, December 31st, and Walter and Julie Isenberg were throwing their ever-famous New Year's Eve party. Downstairs, the adults mingled in the elegantly decorated living room. Brilliant gold and silver streamers hung across the on top of the wall, and tiny fairy lights masterfully strung around the grandfather clock and the doorway added an extra brilliance to the already-shimmering room. The television hanging over the fireplace played jazz music, though no one could hear it over the sound of witty banter, small talk, and chuckles.

At the top of the steps, Anna, the Isenberg's five year-old daughter, looked at the adults standing in her living room. All Anna wanted to do was have some fun, but the adults were busy talking and drinking shiny gold liquid from her parents' special crystal glasses. Suddenly she got an idea and hastily ran up the stairs.

She paused outside of the room at the end of the hall, holding her breath to hide her giggles. She quietly and quickly opened the door and ran into the room, pouncing on the young girl that lay on the bed.

"Anna, what are you doing?" the girl asked.

"Do you wanna play, Elsa?" Anna asked her older sister.

"No, I want to read. Go back downstairs."

"But, Elsa!" Anna whined, "The lights are bright and the parents are awake, so I'm awake, so we _have _to _play!"_

Elsa let out a small chuckle before saying, "Go play by yourself," and shoving her little sister off the bed. The eight year-old had better things to do than run around the house and play make-believe.

Anna fell to the floor with a thud, and though she was taken aback, it didn't stop a huge, mischievous grin from spreading across her face. As fast as she fell, she hopped back up and whispered in Elsa's ear, "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

How could Elsa resist a request like that? Even with her sister giving her the largest puppy-dog eyes known to man, Elsa couldn't resist building a snowman. There was a fresh coat of snow on the ground from the morning, and Elsa and Anna had spent so much time helping their parents decorate the house that they didn't have time to play in the snow.

Without a single word, the two girls grabbed their coats, scarves, and mittens and threw them over their party dresses. As they ran down the stairs, the girls couldn't help but glance at one another with playful smirks that made them erupt into tiny fits of laughter.

"Come on, come on, come on, come on!" Anna giggled. Elsa attempted to shush Anna, though it was eventually unsuccessful.

Skillfully the two sisters darted past the living room and made it to the back door. Anna couldn't contain her excitement and began bouncing up and down as Elsa began to open the door.

"Anna! Elsa! There you two are," their father said. The girls turned around to see their mother and father standing next to one another, kindly smiling at their daughters. "Where have you two been?"

"Upstairs," Elsa shrugged.

"Well we have two people we really want you to meet," their father said. "Come on, follow us." Without hesitation, Anna took her father's hand and followed him into the living room with Elsa not far behind. The two girls stared up at the maze of adults they had to make their way through. Occasionally an adult would look down and smile at the girls, commenting on how pretty they looked or how lovely their dresses were, but for the most part the adults were too absorbed in their conversations to notice the small girls weaving in between their legs.

There was suddenly a clearing at the edge of the room where two boys stood. The shorter of the two, who the girl's recognized as the boy from a few houses down from theirs, wore the ugliest blue and grey Christmas turtleneck sweater Anna and Elsa had ever seen, and he kept a stuffed reindeer locked tightly in one hand. The taller boy, who neither of the girls recognized, also had a stuffed animal, but his was a horse, and he was wearing a sweater that wasn't as ugly as the other boy's. The two were arguing about something.

"That's just stupid! Reindeers are better."

"No they're not. There aren't any reindeers here, but we have horses, so horses are better."

"You're stupid!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yeah you are! Reindeers are so much better than people, right Sven?"

Mr. Isenberg cleared his throat, immediately pulling the two boys out of their heated debate. "Hello, boys. Anna, Elsa, this is Kristoff," he motioned to the boy with the reindeer, "and this is Hans," he nodded towards the other boy. "Kristoff and Hans, these are my daughters, Anna and Elsa. Why don't the four of you go and play?"

"We should play!" Anna immediately chimed.

"You'll all have a great time," Mr. Isenberg smiled before disappearing into the crowd with his wife.

"Sooooo," Anna giggled, "Elsa and I are gonna build a snowman. Do you want to build a snowman?" Hans and Kristoff looked at each other before glancing at Elsa who simply shrugged and smiled.

"Sure, I'd like to," Hans finally said.

"Yeah, why not."

"Yay!" Anna exclaimed. "Let's build a snowman!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:**

The four children stood outside in the snow. They had managed to sneak out of view from their parents who would have said that it was "too cold" for them to go outside and that they needed to stay inside. At this age, though, all kids felt like they were impervious to the cold.

So there they stood, basking in the golden glow from the porch lights. As Elsa, Kristoff, and Hans stood in a small circle, Anna ran around the yard picking up any stones or twigs she could find.

"WAIT!" Anna screeched as she dropped all the materials she had gathered. She ran back to the circle and started jumping up and down. "We need a story!"

"A story?" Hans asked.

"Yes! We should play princess!" Anna squealed.

"That sounds dumb," Kristoff scoffed.

"No it's not! Elsa and I are princesses of Arendelle!"

"What's Arendelle?" Hans asked.

"It's the name of our street, duh," explained Anna. "Do you wanna play?"

Hans couldn't help but smile. His older brothers had never played games like this with him, especially because they were so much older than him. He had never played make-believe before, except with his twin cousins when they came to visit, so being offered this opportunity filled him with joy. "Yeah, I'll play," he smiled.

"You're ten! Why would you play with a little girl like her?" Kristoff mocked.

"Because it's nice," Hans said, quickly covering up his excitement. He cleared his throat and then stood unnaturally straight. "I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Isles." He quickly bowed.

"What's the Southern Isles?" Anna asked.

"It's the name of the place I live in," Hans answered.

"So that leaves you, Christopher!" Anna beamed. "Who do you want to be?"

"It's Kristoff!" he corrected her. "And Sven and I don't want to play."

"You should play," Elsa said. "Anna always comes up with fun games, and it's better than being ignored all night."

Kristoff stared down the three other children who stared at him with pleading eyes. He glanced at the glass French doors that gave him the perfect view of all the adults in the living room. Glancing back at the group and then at the party and back at the group, Kristoff let of a large sigh and shook his head.

"Fine," he sighed, "I'll play."

"Good! What'll you be prince of?" Anna asked.

"Prince?" snorted Kristoff. "I'm not being a prince. They don't do anything fun. I'm gonna be an ice harvester! And Sven's my trust reindeer, and he helps me carry the ice! Right, Sven?" he asked his stuffed animal. "Why of course, Kristoff!" he answered in a silly voice.

"Okay! That'll be fun! Quick then, Mr. Ice Harvester! Get some ice from inside," Anna demanded.

"There's plenty of ice out here," Kristoff argued.

"So? We need real ice, not just icicles. And you should go get us food, Prince Hans!"

"As you wish, Princess Anna," Hans said with a bow. "C'mon, Ice Harvester. Let's go listen to the Princess's orders."

"Whatever…" Kristoff sighed as he followed Hans back into the house.

"Hey, Elsa?" Anna sheepishly smiled.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" A response from Elsa wasn't needed for Anna to know that the two of them were going to build the best snowman ever.

The girls ran around the yard, assembling a snowman. As Anna ran around trying to gather up all the materials she had previously dropped, Elsa rolled three little snowballs.

"Elsa, why'd you make the snowman so small?" Anna asked.

"Because we don't want to leave him out here alone. We need to be able to bring him inside and keep him safe all year round!"

"This is why you're the older sister. You're so smart!" Anna gleefully smiled.

"You're smart too."

"There!" Anna said, placing in the snowman's final twig arm. "He's done!"

"Don't snowmen need noses?"

"You're right! Let me get a carrot!" Anna ran inside and quickly came out with a baby carrot and placed it right in the center of the snowman's nose.

"Hi! I'm Olaf," Elsa said, speaking for the snowman, "and I like warm hugs!" Anna burst into a fit of giggles and hugged the little snowman.

"I love you, Olaf," she whispered. "Elsa! Make snow hills with your powers?"

"Huh?"

"You have ice powers! Use them to make hills."

"Okay," Elsa hesitated. Anna nodded to urge her sister, and Elsa expertly flicked her fingers and waved her arms. Anna ran and jumped, laughing with joy as she went. This boosted Elsa's confidence, and soon she was creating mounds of snow only visible to her and Anna at a speedy rate.

"Anna! Look out!" Elsa shouted, noticing a small patch of ice sparkling in light. "Anna!" Much to her sister's dismay, Anna was having too much fun to hear her sister's warning and within a second of Elsa's last warning, Anna came tumbling down to the ground.

Anna lay on the ground, not letting out a single cry. Elsa dashed over to her sister, concern plastered on her face. "Anna? Anna! Are you okay? Anna, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You're going to be okay, Anna." She looked around wildly. "Mama! Papa!" Elsa screamed. "Help! Please help!"

No one responded, so Elsa knelt by her sister, whispering reassurances to her whimpering baby sister.

"Elsa!" her father shouted, "What happened?" Mr. Isenberg ran over to his two daughters, Mrs. Isenberg and Kristoff and Hans close by his side.

"Anna. She slipped. It was an accident, dad. I'm so sorry."

"Come on, let's get all of you inside," her father sighed. Mr. Isenberg picked up Anna and carried her back into the house. Elsa stayed close to her parents, but Kristoff and Hans kept their distance.

"I think I'm going to find more food," Hans said, attempting to alleviate the awkward tension.

"I'm gonna watch to see what happens," Kristoff decided. "Come on, Sven!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kristoff held Sven close to his side as he followed the Isenberg's back into the house. He didn't really want to be noticed by them, especially since that little girl Anna had gotten hurt, and he didn't want to get blamed for it.

"Faster, Sven!" Kristoff whispered to his stuffed animal. "We can't lose them!"

Although he kept his distance, Kristoff was sure not to stay too far away, especially because the hosts had just walked into the bustling living room, and he was nervous that he'd lose sight of them. The family paused in front of Kristoff's grandfather who had happened to doze off on the couch. Immediately Kristoff hid behind a chair not far off and cautiously peaked out behind it.

"Paul," Mr. Isenberg said, attempting to carefully wake up the elderly man. "Paul?" This time Mr. Isenberg gently shook the old man's shoulder, trying his best not to be impolite to a guest.

"Hmph?" Paul mumbled. He had definitely woken up, but his eyes were still shut.

"Paul, could you please help us with my daughter?" Paul's eyes immediately burst open.

"Ah, Walter, how are you, son! Thanks again for letting us come over."

"It's no trouble at all, Paul, but right now we need a little help." Paul narrowed his eyes as he glanced up at Anna with her arms tightly wrapped around her father's neck.

Kristoff and Sven looked out to see the unfolding events. "What do ya think is gonna happen, Sven?"

"What are you cuties doing over here?" a kindly woman in her early thirties asked.

"Mom!" groaned Kristoff. "You gotta be quiet. The King and Queen of Arendelle went to Grand Pabbie 'cause Anna got hurt."

"Is she okay?"

"I don't know, but Grand Pabbie's gonna help her 'cause she was hit with ice powers."

"Well then, cutie, you should be quiet, because I want to listen too!" Kristoff's mother, though technically speaking his adopted mother, was thrilled to see her son who was typically incredibly shy and scared around other kids finally branching out and playing make-believe with the other kids at the party.

"Kids," Bernadette thought, "have crazy imaginations. None of the adults should ruin this game for them."

"What's the issue here?" Grand Pabbie asked.

"She slipped," Elsa explained in barely even a whisper. "She was running in the snow, and there was ice. She didn't see it."

"No! That's a lie!" Anna exclaimed, immediately perking up.

"What do you mean?" her father asked.

"It was Elsa's ice powers!"

"What?"

"Ice powers! Elsa and I are princesses, and she has ice powers. We were playing. And we were playing in the snow she made and then I slipped because I was running too fast and she couldn't keep up with me." Anna was quiet for a second before quickly adding, "But it was an accident. She never meant to hurt me."

The whole "ice powers" thing finally made sense to the adults. Anna was known for having a very large imagination and for her love of playing make-believe, so it only made sense that she would say it was because her sister had ice powers. Immediately the adults knew not to shatter this world that the girls had created. To break the hearts of children would be an awful thing.

"Ah, ice powers you say, hm?" Paul winked. "Was she born with the powers or cursed?"

"That's where you answer, daddy," Anna whispered.

"Oh. Um. Born. And they're starting to get stronger." Paul nodded his head and motioned for Mrs. Isenberg to bring Anna to him. She picked up her daughter and brought him over to Paul.

For a second, Paul carefully inspected Anna's head, making sure there were no bumps or bruises or bleeding, worried that perhaps the little girl was in a lot of pain. There was no visible damage, but he was certain that Anna's head would get a small bump on it.

"Well, I have to say that you're lucky it wasn't her heart that was pierced. The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded."

"What do you recommend?" Mr. Isenberg asked.

"I recommend we remove all magic, even the memories of it. But don't worry, I'll leave all the fun." Paul moved closer to Anna and whispered in her ear, "Do you get that Anna? You won't remember your sister's magical powers anymore. All you have are the memories of being outside in the snow with her, but she doesn't have powers. Does that make sense?"

"I got it, Mr. Bjorgman!" giggled Anna.

"Very good, kid," Paul said, offering a friendly smile to her. Paul looked back up at Mr. and Mrs. Isenberg, "She'll be just fine."

"But she won't remember that I have powers?" Elsa asked, suddenly sounded very concerned.

"It's for the best," her father reassured her.

"Listen to me, Elsa," Paul interjected. "Your power will only grow. There is beauty in your magic." Paul took in a breath. "But there is also great danger. You must learn to control it. Fear will be your enemy."

Elsa gasped and shook her head in disbelief. She imaginary powers were for fun. She had not expected that this would be the course. Elsa was now a danger in this world Anna had created, and Elsa was terrified at this new prospect.

"No. We'll protect her. She can learn to control it. I'm sure. Until then, we'll lock the gates, reduce the staff. We'll limit her contact with people and keep her powers hidden from everyone…including Anna. Thank you, Paul."

"Don't mention it, Mr. King," Paul smiled, before winking and returning to his napping spot.

"How about you girls play downstairs in the basement. It'll be better there. There won't be so many people," their mother offered.

"Let's go, Elsa!" Anna shouted, grabbing her sister's arm.

Hans nearly dropped the plethora of food he carried in his arms because Anna almost collided into him in her frenzy of going down into the basement to play.

"They're going down to the basement," Kristoff said as he walked over to Hans.

"Why?" asked Hans.

"Because my Grand Pabbie took away all memory of Elsa's powers from Anna, and now they're playing downstairs."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, do you want a sandwich then?" Hans offered.

"Yeah! Hey, do you have any carrots for Sven?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

As Kristoff and Hans stayed upstairs stealing as much food and finding places to hide from the adults, Anna and Elsa were down in the refurbished basement. Elsa anxiously paced back and forth. By no means was this the game she was expecting to play. Of course games with Anna always took unexpected turns, but not once had the games lead to Elsa being some sort of destructive monster. Of course the eight-year-old knew that it was only a game, but she worried that this is how her younger sister truly saw her: a monster.

Perhaps the children had begun to get too wrapped up in their game and started seeing themselves as the characters they had created.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, accidentally knocking down the cardboard boxes she was stacking. "Do you wanna build a snowman? C'mon, let's play!"

Elsa gave a sad smile to her sister and hid behind the old couch they had down there.

"Elsa, I never see you anymore! It's like you've gone away." Anna grabbed two Barbie dolls from the toy box and started playing with them. "We used to be best buddies and now we're not. I wish you would tell me why." In a beat Anna's somber mood switched to something far more upbeat and she ran over to the couch and peered over the edge.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she asked again. "It doesn't have to be a snowman!"

"Go away, Anna," Elsa sighed.

"Okay bye." Without another word Anna went to the opposite side of the room. The girls were no longer Anna and Elsa Isenberg. Instead, they were the Princesses of Arendelle, one who was forced to live a life of solitude, and the other forced to keep a possibly dangerous power hidden from everyone around her.

Without notice, Anna asked for a second time, "Do you want to build a snowman?"

Elsa remained quiet. She was told to keep her "powers" hidden from Anna, and what if Elsa accepted this invitation? Would Anna make Elsa lose control of her powers once more?

"Or maybe we can ride our bike around the hall!" suggested Anna as she dragged a bicycle built for two into the middle of the room. "If we don't play soon, I think I'm gonna start talking to the pictures!" she shouted, gesturing to the various paintings they had. After all, Mr. Isenberg was a painter in his spare time, and the amount of pictures they had accumulated reached ginormous proportions.

"It gets a little lonely without anyone and watching time go by," Anna continued.

In Elsa's mind, she was in her room, her parents were next to her. The walls were frozen, and she was scared.

"It's getting stronger!" Elsa cried.

"Getting upset only makes it worse," her father reminded her. He went in to hug her, but Elsa let out a small gasp before shouting, "NO! No. Don't touch me. I don't want to hurt you."

A stack of books toppled down and brought Elsa back to the real world where she was still seated behind the couch, staring at one of her father's paintings of a winter landscape.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._ The basement door opened, and the stairs creaked as people walked down.

"Anna? Elsa?" their mother called out. "Your father and I need to quickly run to the market. I know it's late, but we realized we need a few more drinks, and we forgot to grab your sparkling cider. We should be back within twenty minutes, okay?"

"Okay, mommy!" With a small giggle and wiggling her fingers, Anna ran over to her parents and hugged their legs.

"Elsa, did you hear us, kiddo?" their father asked.

"Yeah…Do you have to go?" Elsa didn't want to be left alone, especially since she was worried about Anna getting hurt again. Possibilities about any number of things that could go wrong swirled like a blizzard in Elsa's mind. What if Anna fell again? What if she actually got hurt? What if Elsa was the one who hurt her?

"You'll be fine, Elsa. Your Uncle Kai is just upstairs, and he's in charge for now. Nana Gerda is also there, so you two can go to them any time you need anything."

With a small goodbye wave, their parents went back up the stairs. Anna, being quite attached to her parents, ran up the stairs to give her parents another goodbye hug, leaving Elsa all alone. Without a single thought, Elsa ran up the steps and shut the door behind her, locking it to prevent anyone from coming in. She sat on the top step and stared around the basement. The eyes of the paintings stared at her, but Elsa still felt alone and scared.

On the other side of the door, Anna was frozen with confusion. When had her sister shut the door and why? She tried to open the door, but she was too small to reach the door handle, and she didn't know where her parents kept a stepstool. So with a careful hand, she knocked on the door three times.

"Elsa?" she asked. "Please I know you're in there. People are asking where you've been." Silence. "I'm right out here for you. Please let me in." Still nothing. In Anna's mind, she and Elsa were all alone now. Their parents had gone on a journey across the sea and had not returned. They were completely alone except for having one another. "We only have each other," she picked up, "it's just you and me." Anna stared at the unmoving door, and an overwhelming sadness started to fill the young girl's heart. What had she done to make her sister shut her out?

"What are we gonna do?" she asked to no one. "Do you want to build a snowman?" She placed her back against the door and slid down, staring out the nearest window. Anna wanted to ask this to Elsa, but at this point, the little girl was so upset, believing that her sister now hated her, the only comfort she had left was this hope that the two could build a snowman just one more time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Uncle Kai, a tall and large balding man with the remains of ginger hair, and Nana Gerda, a kindly looking older woman with wiry grey hair tied in a bun, weren't related to the Isenbergs, despite the titles Anna and Elsa had for them. Uncle Kai was actually the girls' father's coworker and college best friend. Nana Gerda was the kindly old woman next door who knit the two girls scarves and mittens every winter. They stood in the main hall of the Isenberg home, keeping a close eye on the door. After all, Julie and Walter ad left them in charge when they left to get some more champagne and snacks.

"I think I'm going to try and find the girls to make sure they're okay," Kai smiled before turning around and moving through the mass of people to find Anna and Elsa.

"Mom, can't I go home?" a disgruntled teenager asked.

"No. I told you that we were spending New Year's Eve here; it's tradition."

"That's not my fault," he muttered, not so subtly rolling his eyes.

Kristoff stood by a table, ignoring the crowd around him. He was far more interested in his stuffed reindeer than anything else.

"What do you want, Sven?" Kristoff looked down at his stuffed reindeer for an answer.

"Give me a snack!" Kristoff answered his own question in a funny voice.

"What's the magic word?" he asked his reindeer friend.

"Please!" Kristoff glanced at the table next to him and grabbed a carrot. He offered it to Sven before quickly saying, "Hey, hey, hey! Share!" Kristoff allowed Sven to take a 'bite' before taking a bite of the carrot himself. Kristoff went back to ignoring the crowd. Or rather Kristoff 'ignored' the crowd by sneakily taking carrots and looking at the mass crowd of adults that stood before him.

"I can't believe how great this party is!" Persi, another partygoer, told his wife Aggie.

"I know! It's amazing. Ooh, let's go get some of that fondue, Persi!"

A knock came at the door, and Gerda opened it up. "Welcome to the Isenberg's!" she greeted the small and frail-looking man with a large, white moustache and awful toupee.

"Ah yes, I know where I am!" the short man shrill, nasally voice. Without a single glance, the small man walked past Kai and was followed by two large and extremely muscular men. "Ah, Arendelle, where I grew up. My childhood home. The doors are open and ready to reveal the secrets of my nephew's riches." The old man, Duke Weselton, Anna and Elsa's great uncle, stopped in his tracks before stammering, "Did I just say that out loud?" He turned to the two young men behind him, his sons, before shaking his head and shrugging.

After realizing Anna was not going to open the door, Anna had headed up to her room. She now lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling and counting the glow-in-the dark stars stuck there.

_ Knock, knock._

"Anna?" Kai called. Although it had to be five minutes at most that she had last spoken to her sister, Anna felt like she had been deprived of conversations for years.

"It's Princess Anna, Uncle Kai!" she giggled. On the other side of the door, Kai smirked and gave a small chuckle.

"Ah yes, of course, Princess Anna. Would you like to come downstairs?"

"Why? What's happening in the palace?"

Anna was always one to keep the adults on their feet, so Kai quickly responded, "Your sister's coronation."

"Cor-neration?" Anna sounded out. She twisted her face with each foreign syllable she spoke.

"Coronation," Kai corrected. "It means she's going to be crowned Queen, Princess Anna."

"Oh! I have to get ready! Don't forget to tell Elsa, Uncle Kai. She's in the basement." With a giggle, Anna ran to her dress-up clothes and pulled out her favorite green dress. She threw off the dress she was already wearing and put on the fancier green dress. Before leaving she gave a twirl and a small squeal of excitement, and ten she darted out of her room, past Kai, and downstairs. Kai followed after the young girl, even if it was only to find her older sister to warn her about this news of a coronation.

"Look at it!" she squeaked to herself. "The window is open, and so's that door!" Of course the window Anna was referring to wasn't actually open, but in her mind, it was currently summer. However, she did point to the French doors that lead to the living room, which is where all the adults were stationed.

"We must have like eight thousand salad plates!" she exclaimed as the second the tables of food caught her eyes. She ran down the stairs and shook hands with an invisible man at the bottom of the staircase. "We're going to have a ball, and there'll be people!" From the radio an upbeat classical song came over the speakers, catching Anna completely off guard.

This was, after all, the first New Year's Eve party that Anna was awake for, and she was ready to experience every bit of it.

"There's music, and light, and I'm gonna dance through the night!" Anna promised herself. "I'm not gonna be alone anymore." Anna made her way through the hallway before stopping right in front of the doorways.

"I can't wait to meet everyone!" Suddenly she took a sharp gasp, remembering all of the princess movies she had recently watched. There was always a love interest. "What if I meet _the_ one?" With another giggle Anna was running into the great room, and she wrapped herself up in one of the scarlet curtains, pretending she was in a fantastic gown and imagining herself looking completely sophisticated. In her mind she imagined a beautiful stranger tall and fair standing in the doorway, but the chocolate on the table looked a bit more appealing so she decided stuff some chocolate in her face.

Suddenly her mind went back to the invisible prince who was bound to be her husband, and she thought about laughing and talking all evening with him. She quickly got bored, though, and ran into the adjacent room filled with a few of her father's best paintings. The young girl jumped around the room, talking to herself. "For the first time in forever, there'll be magic and fun! And maybe I could be noticed by someone." Dancing around the room, Anna mimicked some of the figures in the paintings. "And I have a chance to find Prince Charming!"

Down in the basement, Elsa paced around the room. Her Uncle Kai had knocked on the door, saying that _Princess_ Anna had asked him to remind Princess Elsa that she was going to be crowned Queen today, and she should get ready.

"Don't let them in. Don't let them see," Elsa whispered to herself. "Be the good girl you always have to be," she reminded herself. She looked around the room and found her old box filled with dress-up clothes. She pulled out a purple cloak and a pair of blue gloves. Quickly she put them on before murmuring, "Conceal. Don't feel." After all, Elsa was worried about the ice powers she had in Anna's world.

"Make one wrong move and everyone will know," she muttered. "It's only for today." Elsa began to walk up the stairs and threw open her door. "Please tell the guards to open up the gate, Uncle Kai," Elsa requested in her best queenly and demanding voice.

"Of course, your majesty," Kai smiled. "The kingdom will be open."

In the great room, Anna darted in between the legs of the adults because she was excited that she was finally getting what she had been dreaming of; however, Elsa stood in front of the basement door. She hugged herself (her nervous habit) reminding herself not to let anyone know her 'ice powers' were out of control.

"For the first time in forever, nothing's in my way!" Anna shouted as she ran into the hallway. The second she left the crowded great room, though, she ran into someone and was thrown to the floor.

"Hey!" a very frustrated Anna shouted.

"I'm so sorry. Are you hurt?" Hans stood in the middle of the hallway, his horse stuffed animal tightly grasped in his hand, and a look of startled and slightly frightened expression plastered to his face.

"Hey. I-ya, no. No. I'm okay," replied Anna in a much gentler tone.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I just wasn't looking where I was going. But I'm okay." Anna smiled up at the older boy. Suddenly Anna remembered that he was, in fact, a prince. Maybe he was going to be her Prince Charming! Yes, he had to be her Prince Charming. "I'm great, actually," she continued.

"Oh, thank goodness," Hans smiled. Although Hans didn't want to necessarily play this game, he wanted to keep of the charade for Anna. After all, he knew how awful it was when older siblings ignored the make-believe games you wanted to play.

Hans took a step closer to Anna and held out his hand to help her up. Anna gently took Hans's hand and stood up.

"Oh! Prince Hans of the Southern Isles," Hans said, introducing himself. He gave a small bow.

"Princess Anna of Arendelle," Anna replied with a curtsey.

"Princess? My Lady!" Hans meant to drop to his knees, but he lost he balance and accidentally tumbled on to of Anna, making both fall to the ground.

"Hi…again," giggled Anna. They both went to stand up, but Anna stepped on the hem of her dress and started falling forward. Hans attempted to catch her, but he was ill-prepared for that and fell down with her.

"Oh boy," Hans blushed.

"Ha. This is weird. You're not weird, but we're…I'm weird. You're pretty." Anna stopped. "Wait, what?" In her mind, Anna was hitting her head. How could she let her Prince Charming know that she liked him?

Both stood up once more, and this time the two of them did not fall. "I'd like to formally apologize for hitting the Princess of Arendelle with my horse," Hans shook his stuffed horse, "and for every moment after."

"No. No-no. It's fine. I'm not THAT Princess. I mean if you hit Elsa, she's my sister, that would be— yeash! 'Cuz y'know… But it's just me."

"Just you?" Hans asked, giving Anna a warm smile. She kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger. In the great room, the grandfather clock struck eight, and the bells started ringing. Anna didn't notice at first, as she was far too busy staring that the boy she would make her Prince Charming.

"The bells. The coro-corono-corona-tion! Coronation! Elsa's gonna become Queen! I-I-I better go. I have to…I better go." Anna ran off to find her sister, but before she disappeared as she turned the corner, she gave Hans a small wave. "Bye!" she quickly added.

Hans started to walk back into the great room, but someone ran up behind him and pushed him down. Hans looked up to see one of his older brothers, Erik, snicker as he ran off. Hans rolled his eyes and looked back at where he last saw Anna before looking down at his stuffed horse.

"Sitron," he addressed the stuffed animal, "I have a plan."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

By means of young children being irresistibly adorable and adults unable to crush their dreams and tell them 'no', everyone had moved from the living room into the great hall in honor of Elsa's coronation as Queen of Arendelle. Of course Kai had to persuade the majority of the adults to play along with the children's game, but he refused to tell Anna or Elsa that.  
Franz, a professor of Old Norse at the college Mrs. Isenberg worked at, held the tiara that Elsa had found as well as a sparkly baton and a bouncy ball. Elsa had seen many paintings her father had done of famous kings and queens, and she knew what props she needed in order to become queen.  
Elsa stood in front of Franz, her back to the adults, and Anna stood right by her side. Although Anna gazed lovingly at her sister with awe and revire, Elsa stared at Franz, anticipating him to start the ceremony.  
"Your Majesty," Franz whispered, "the gloves." He motioned towards Elsa's glove-covered hands. Hesitantly, Elsa removed her gloves, sticking them underneath her arms. Now was the moment of truth. This moment would reveal if her ice powers would be revealed. Carefully, she grabbed the baton and bouncy ball and held each in her hands.  
"Sehm hon Heel-drr In-um Hell-gum Ayg-num ok krund ee thes-um hell-gah stahth, ehk teh frahm fur-ear u-thear…" Franz recited. No one knew what he was saying, but all assumed it had to be old Norse.  
Elsa looked down at her hands and pictured her scepter and orb freezing over. This was the opposite of what she wanted. She only hoped that Anna wouldn't think of the same thing.  
"…Queen Elsa of Arendelle," Franz finished.  
"Queen Elsa of Arendelle," the adults repeated. As soon as the words were spoken, Elsa dropped the ball and baton and quickly put back on her gloves. No one noticed. She made it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The adults immediately returned back into the living room once this ceremony was over. For them, the game had ended, but for the children, the game was very much still in the works.  
Elsa wore her tiara proudly and Anna could help but giggle in excitement at how fancy her older sister looked. Somewhere in the house, Hans and Kristoff were hiding away from all the hullabaloo. Besides, Kristoff liked being away from people, and he wanted nothing more than to spend his evening away from the 'prince' and 'princesses'. Hans, on the other hand, loved the rush and being surrounded by people, especially if that meant he was able to escape his older brothers for at least a minute.  
"Uncle Kai! Uncle Kai!" Anna shouted as he made his way into the living room.  
"Yes, princess?" Kai asked with a grin.  
"You have to tell everyone who we are! 'Cause Elsa is Queen. And they gotta know she's here!"  
"Anything for you," chuckled Kai. "Just follow me." The two girls followed close behind their Uncle Kai, but when he motioned them to stay by the entrance to the living room, they listened.  
Clearing his throat, Kai announced, "Queen Elsa of Arendelle!" With a small wave of his hand, he motioned for Elsa to come into the room. Many of the adults smiled at hearing these little girls get introduced as royalty; however, their Great Uncle Duke, couldn't help but roll his eyes in annoyance. His two sons made a face at one another before turning their attention back to the little girls.  
"Princess Anna of Arendelle!" Kai continued. At this point, Elsa had already made it through the living room and now stood in front of the fireplace. Unlike Elsa's poised entrance, Anna ran into the room, stumbling over both her feet. Instead of standing next to Elsa, Anna stood a good five feet away from her sister. After all, Anna had imagined that her sister refused to talk to her for quite a few years. However, Kai had no clue about this and ushered her to stand next to Elsa.  
"Here? Are you sure?" Anna asked. Kai simply nodded and smiled before disappearing into the crowd of adults. As Elsa stared into the crowd, Anna glanced over at her, quickly averting her gaze when Elsa glanced at Anna.  
Elsa couldn't help but feel slightly hurt as her sister looked away, but she knew that she could possibly amend it.  
"…Hi," Elsa said, her voice barely above a whisper.  
'Hi me…?" Anna asked, confusing stuck on to her face. "Oh. Um. Hi."  
There was a beat of nothing being said before Elsa finally came up with something else to say before her and Anna's conversation disappeared into nothingness. "…You look beautiful."  
"Thank you!" Anna exclaimed. Her sister had never called her beautiful before, and Anna thought that Elsa was the pretty one because Elsa was older. This was the first time Anna thought she had ever even heard Elsa compliment her. "You look beautifuller."  
"Thank you," Elsa chuckled. Typically she would correct her little sister on grammar, but tonight she would let it slight. "So, this is what a party looks like?"  
"It's warmer than I thought," Anna responded.  
"And what's that amazing smell?" Both girls closed their eyes and deeply breathed in.  
"Chocolate!" they exclaimed synchronistically. They both opened their eyes, and with a single glance at one another, the girls erupted into laughter. However, Kai was walking over to them, so they immediately restored themselves and looked out at a part with straight faces.  
Just as Elsa was about to restore Anna's memory of the ice powers, Kai interrupted and said, "Your Majesty. Your Uncle Duke."  
"Uncle Weasel!" Anna squealed. Anna was young and couldn't properly pronounce words, but anyone who heard got a riot out of it due to the fact that Duke Weselton so closely resembled a weasel.  
"Weselton. My last name is Weselton." Quickly he cleared his throat and turned to Elsa. Begrudgingly he said, "Your Majesty, as your closest…er…partner in trade, it seems only fitting that I should offer you your first dance as queen." Flitting his feet, doing a small kick, and topping it all off with a deep bow, Great Uncle Duke Weselton held out his hand, allowing his toupee to dip forward. Anna and Elsa could hardly stifle their giggles.  
"That you…only I don't dance," Elsa said.  
"Oh?"  
"But my sister does," winked Elsa.  
"What?" Anna had been thinking about how her Uncle Duke was secretly bald, so she had missed the entire conversation.  
"Lucky you!" Duke clapped. He took Anna's arm and brought her into the center of the room for a dance. Anna looked back at Elsa, completely confused by this turn of events.  
"Sorry!" Elsa whispered.

Anna and her Great Uncle were in the middle of the dance floor. Although Duke was typically very begrudging and absolutely abhorred following the whims of children, he didn't want to upset either of his great nieces while their parents were away. To make the best of it, he tried to make Anna life by dancing in a ridiculous manner.  
"Like and agile peacock…" he whispered to himself. In truth he had no idea what this meant to him or why he said it, but he assumed that was how he was dancing.  
"Speaking of, so great to finally be invited to this party. Why did your parents hesitate to invite me in the first place? Do you know the reason? Hmm?" The issue with Duke was that he was old and senile, and quite frankly he hardly ever realized when he was actually saying things out loud.  
"…No?" Anna said.  
"Oh, all right," Duke blushed, very flustered at what he had just said to his young niece. "Hang on! Here comes the twirl!" Without warning, he helped spin Anna around. While she was turning, she could have sworn she saw Elsa giggling.  
"Like a chicken…with the face of a monkey…I fly!" Duke said, but a second later, the song had ended.  
Anna chuckled before walking back to Elsa.  
"Let me know when you're ready for another dance, m'lady," her great uncle called out. The second he knew Anna and Elsa could no longer see him, he rolled his eyes and shuddered at what a fool he had just made himself out to be. He swore that he would never do that again.  
"Well he was fast!" Elsa commented.  
"Especially since he's wearing heels," Anna smiled.  
"You okay?"  
"I've never been better!" Anna confessed, loving Elsa's attention. "This is so nice. I wish it could me like this forever."  
"Me too…" Elsa sincerely professed. Suddenly her memories of having been bequeathed ice powers flooded back into her mind. She caught herself, stiffened up, and looked away. "But it can't."  
"Why not?" whined Anna. "If—"  
"It just can't." Anna's smiled dropped as soon as she heard Elsa say this. She tried her hardest not to get emotional, but she felt tears rising to her eyes. Why had her sister suddenly become so distant?  
Without a single word, Anna started walked away. Elsa couldn't say anything or find the words to say, so she stayed put. A frown found its way to her face.  
Moving through the crowd, Anna accidentally ran into a man. As small as she was, Anna started to tumble to the ground once more, but out of nowhere, and hand grabbed hers and pulled her up.  
"Glad I caught you," Hans smiled.  
"Hans," sighed Anna. He gently put down his apple juice on the nearest table.  
"Shall we dance?" he asked.  
"Yes," replied Anna. Perhaps the nights was turning around.


End file.
